Living with autism or caring for someone on the spectrum comes with daily challenges, but there are just as many moments filled with hope and joy. Too often, the world at large seems to treat anything different as a weakness. When you need strength and encouragement, let these inspirational quotes remind you that people with autism bring unique talents and perspectives to the table.
Perspective Is Everything
Photo: Flickr/A Health Blog“Autism … offers a chance for us to glimpse an awe-filled vision of the world that might otherwise pass us by.” -Dr. Colin Zimbleman
Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Norwood (Charity)“Don’t think that there’s a different, better child ‘hiding’ behind the autism. This is your child. Love the child in front of you. Encourage his strengths, celebrate his quirks, and improve his weaknesses, the way you would with any child. You may have to work harder on some of this, but that’s the goal.” -Claire Scovell LaZebnik
Open Mind, Open Heart
Photo: Flickr/U.S. Army“Do not fear people with autism; embrace them. Do not spite people with autism; unite them. Do not deny people with autism; accept them, for then their abilities will shine.” -Paul Isaacs
Celebrate the Square Pegs
“Autists are the ultimate square pegs, and the problem with pounding a square peg into a round hole is not that the hammering is hard work. It’s that you’re destroying the peg.” -Paul Collins
Surpassing Expectations
Photo: Flickr/Josh Ward“Everyone has a mountain to climb, and autism has not been my mountain. It has been my opportunity for victory.” -Rachel Barcellona
Cherish the Possibilities
Photo: U.S. Department of Defense/Tech. Sgt. William Buchanan“When a family focuses on ability instead of disability, all things are possible … Love and acceptance is key. We need to interact with those with autism by taking an interest in their interests.” -Amanda Rae Ross
Focus + Dedication – Chitchat = Progress
“What would happen if the autism gene was eliminated from the gene pool? You would have a bunch of people standing around in a cave, chatting and socializing and not getting anything done.” -Temple Grandin
An Abundance of Joys and Surprises
Photo: Flickr/Paolo Manalac“Think of it: a disability is usually defined in terms of what is missing. … But autism … is as much about what is abundant as what is missing, an over-expression of the very traits that make our species unique.” -Paul Collins
No Two Are Alike
Photo: Flickr/Paolo Manalac“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” -Dr. Stephen Shore
A Colorful Personality Goes a Long Way
Photo: Pixabay“Children with autism are colorful — they are often very beautiful and, like the rainbow, they stand out.” Adele Devine
Boundaries Are Imaginary
“I view autistic as a word for a part of how my brain works, not for a narrow set of behaviors and certainly not for a set of boundaries of a stereotype that I have to stay inside.” -Amanda Baggs
People with autism are as varied as the leaves on a tree, and personality traits that seem eccentric are often their strengths. Being on the spectrum allows you to see the world in ways other people can’t, and that creates unique opportunities to go further than others have gone.
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